Inna ventured out to Bucharest to visit Ljova, while he's on his top-secret mission there. Bucharest has charmed me beyond all expectations...

Sure, its buildings don't sing in unison, and it's a few paint jobs away from restored grandiosity of Budapest...

But I fell in love with its dilapidated ornate structures, friendly sad stray dogs, and megalomaniac Communist-era architecture, all melting and accelerating into a fast-moving, majestic city of the future.

Writing from Bucharest... This video from YouTube captures my initial impression of the city quite perfectly.... It's got some lovely buildings, grandiose boulevards, and relentless motion... It reminds me of Moscow or London, just feels a bit more forgotten by the rest of the world. That might be a good thing...

(via mediabistro.com)Appearing via satellite during Jerry Seinfeld's appearance on the Late Show last night, Seinfeld actor Michael Richards (Kramer on Seinfeld) apologized for his epithet-filled tirade at the Laugh Factory over the weekend. Said Richards: "For me to be at a comedy club and flip out and say this crap, I'm deeply, deeply sorry."

"Business Car Service promised to provide as an escort an actual police car and two traffic policemen for eight hours at a cost of only $900. The car is equipped with a siren and, most important, a flashing blue light to get you places fast."

$900/day for traffic-free existence? Sounds very reasonable for your run-of-the-mill oil mogul... If I had to live the traffic-hell of Moscow, I'd do it (if I were an oil mogul, that is). What are the deluxe services, I wonder? and how much?

while we've been frolicking around Hungary and elsewhere, a profile of Ljova came out in the Strings Magazine! (yes, there's a whole magazine - even more than one magazine - devoted entirely to everything string-instruments)===>>Full text here - nice article on the process of creating his recent solo record, Vjola - World on Four Strings

For future reference and posterity - our friend Jeff Perlman's departure was a bit more exciting than anticipated. Jeff was supposed to fly Alitalia out of Budapest this morning at 7:15 am. I found him sleeping in bed at 6:30 am (!!!). We called a cab and then were at a loss...

Google led us to this page of tips on what to do if you're about to miss a flight. The essence of the tips: notify the airline immediately and be really nice! While Jeff was speeding to the airport in a cab, we were able to reach Alitalia at the airport, and they actually waited for him! He got to the airport at 7 am, they sped him through the airport, checked his baggage, and he was in his seat at 7:16 am!!!!!!!

One tip I might add to the tips above is that you might want to call the AIRPORT instead of trying to look for the airline's number. When we called the airport, they transferred us to the Alitalia desk, and people at the desk were able and willing to help. Reaching Alitalia's ticketing office would probably not have been helpful.